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Vol. 7 No. 1

BOOK NEWS

UPCOMING VIWF EVENTS

Incite

At the next Incite on February 8, Tess Gallagher reads from Midnight Lantern, and Merilyn Simonds reads from A New Leaf. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitefebruary 8. Also appearing at Incite in the next few months are Linden MacIntyre, Richard Wagamese, Anne DeGrace, Will Ferguson, Richard Stursberg, John Boyne, Yasuko Thanh and Robert Hough, among others.

The Ontario Arts Council has created The Ontario Arts Council Aboriginal Arts Award in recognition of the distinctive contributions made by Aboriginal artists and arts leaders in Ontario in a variety of media, including literature. The award will be presented annually. The winner will receive a cash award of $7,500.http://www.arts.on.ca/Page4495.aspx

The tributes of an anonymous man in black with a white scarf and a wide-brimmed hat, who leaves three roses and a half-empty bottle of cognac at Poe's original grave on the writer's birthday (January 19), are thought to date to at least the 1940s. Edgar Allan Poe fans waited long past a midnight dreary this year but the Poe Taster failed to visit the grave for the third consecutive year. That tradition is now, quietly, over.http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/01/19/poe-tradition-toaster.html

William Dalrymple, the co-director of the Jaipur Festival, offers a detailed description of how difficult decisions were made regarding Rushdie’s speaking by video link from London, citing the combination of an upcoming election (described as ‘razor edge’) in Utter Pradesh and a history of politicians encouraging protesters rather than protecting writers and artists.http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/26/salman-rushdie-jaipur-literary-festival

On Wednesday, a regional court in Munich ruled that Mein Kampf may not appear on newsstands. Extracts from Mein Kampf will go on sale in kiosks in Germany today, but with the text blacked out since the court ruled that reprinting the Nazi manifesto broke copyright laws. Peter McGee said in a letter to readers that he would himself censor the text after the court's decision, under the title The Unreadable Book.http://www.expatica.com/de/news/german-news/german-mein-kampf--reprints-to-be-blacked-out_203688.html

The Writers' Trust of Canada is accepting submissions for the Bronwen Wallace Emerging Author Award, which is awarded to authors under the age of 35 whose work has been published in a magazine or anthology. The deadline for submissions is January 30, 2012. Full submission guidelines here:http://www.cbabook.org/files/RBC_BWA_Call%20for%20Submissions.pdf

The Writers Union of Canada has announced the jury and the submission deadlines for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, which will be awarded to the best first short fiction collection by a Canadian writer. The submission deadline is January 31, 2012 and submitted words must have been published in 2011.http://www.writersunion.ca/pdfs/2011_danutagleed_press_release.pdf

William Gass' Life Sentence is a brilliant new book of essays that explores the unique experience of reading fine writing, writes Troy Jollimore. It might well have been called "Live Sentences" as Gass' sentences are among the liveliest being written today, says Jollimore.http://www.salon.com/2012/01/25/the_words_we_live_by/singleton/

75 YEARS OF CONTROVERSY75 Years of Controversy: The Governor-General's Literary Awards come to UBC for all of January. The UBC Library's Rare Books and Special Collections, located on the first floor of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, will display a number of the Literary Award-winning books. The exhibition is open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. More information at: http://wire.arts.ubc.ca/events/75-years-of-controversy-the-ggs-come-to-ubc/.

SPIRITUAL ECOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY MONGOLIAN LITERATUREPresentation traces the internal and external forces that influence the expression of spirituality and ecology in the work of contemporary poets. Thursday, January 26 at 5:00pm, free. Room 120, Institute of Asian Research, 1855 West Mall, UBC.

MASHED POETICSSpoken word and music mash up where poets create new work based on songs from Gordon by the Barenaked Ladies. Friday, January 27 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $10. The Kosmik Zoo, 53 West Broadway. For more information, phone 604-215-9230.

CHARLOTTE GILLVancouver Book Club presents an intimate conversation with the author of Eating Dirt. Saturday, January 28 at 2:00pm. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street. For more information, contact lindsay.glauser@gmail.com.

CANADA READSFor the first time ever, Canada Reads 2012 is a battle of non-fiction books! CBC Radio's North by Northwest is running a special writing contest celebrating the themes of the two BC books in the battle, and the winners will receive all the 2012 Canada Reads books, plus the Canada Reads book bag! To enter, describe in 400 words or less: your own true life experience with an amazing animal OR your own true life experience with being in personal danger. For all the details, go to www.cbc.ca/nxnw. Contest closes January 29 at midnight.

CHARLOTTE GILLReading by the author of Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe. Monday, January 30 at 7:00pm, free. World Arts Centre, 2nd floor, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings Street). More information at www.sfuwoodwards.ca.

ROBSON READING SERIESReadings by Lynn Coady (The Antagonist) and Anne Perdue (I'm a Registered Nurse Not a Whore). Thursday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore/Library at Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.

AT THE WORLD'S EDGEClaudia Cornwall discusses her new book At the World's Edge–Curt Lang's Vancouver: 1937–1998. Thursday, February 2 at 7:30pm, free. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information at 604-299-8955.

JOSE AND PILARThe VIFF VanCity presents Jose and Pillar, the story of Jose Saramago and his wife Pilar del Rio. Graced with apparently unfettered access to the Portugese Nobel prize-winning novelist (Blindness) for more than two years, Miguel Goncalves Mendes delivers something much more than a conventional “portrait of an artist”.http://filmguide.viff.org/tixSYS/vifcguide/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=2166&

POETRY READINGPoets E.D. Blodgett and Susan McCaslin will be reading from their recent volumes of poetry. Thursday, February 9 at 7:00pm, free. Cadboro Bay Book Company, 3840B Cadboro Bay Road, Victoria. More information at cadborobaybooks@shaw.ca.

MARISSA MEYERAuthor reads from Cinder, the first novel in the Lunar Chronicles series. Saturday, February 11 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby. More information at 604-431-0463.

BOOK LAUNCHJennifer Kramer will sign copies of the catalogue written to accompany the exhibition Kesu': The Art and Life of Doug Cranmer. Tuesday, February 14 at 4:00pm. Museum of Anthropology, UBC, 6393 NW Marine Drive. More information at www.moa.ubc.ca/events.

HOME FRONT, A READING SERIESReading by Sharon Thesen, author of The Serial Poems. Saturday, February 18 at 8:00pm. Cost: $5/pay what you can. 3966 Ontario Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-5200.

SKAGIT RIVER POETRY FESTIVALThree days of poetry, song and storytelling featuring Carolyn Forche', Tony Hoagland and many others. May 17-20, 2012. La Conner, WA. Complete information at www.skagitriverpoetry.org.

JOHN IRVINGThe author will talk about his new novel In One Person on Friday, May 18th, 2012 at 7:30 pm at the North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts. Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. Ticket price of $30 includes a copy of the new novel available for pick up at the event. More information at 604.990.7810 or http://www2.capilanou.ca/news-events/nscucentre.html.